Helpful Score: 7
I'm a huge fan of the Black Dagger Brother books, so I really looked forward to this series. While I enjoyed this book, however, it has a very different tone than Ward's other work.
As is typical of Ward, the point of view jump around a lot. We meet Jim, a 40-year-old ex-assassin construction worker who, following a near death experience, is charged with saving seven souls from sin and damnation. The first of these souls is the leading man of the book, Vin. Vin is a very wealthy man who is basically always unsatisfied with what he has and greedily seeking more. Vin's world is turned upside down when he meets Marie-Terese, a prostitute who is desperate for a normal life. They pretty much immediately and inexplicably fall in love (another typical theme for Ward). However, they are both in danger as Vin's greedy past and Marie-Terese's less than pleasant current circumstances catch up to them. Jim must help them find there way out of danger and to each other.
The romantic moments in this book are surprisingly touching. If you can suspend disbelief and assume love at first sight, that is. There's no build-up, just instant knock out attraction followed quickly by "the L word". I actually enjoyed this aspect of the book, because it made their love seem urgent and fated. I had some trouble liking both characters at first, because they just aren't that easy to relate to. But Ward quickly explains why they are what and who they are, so I was able to start to sympathize with them. Similarly Jim takes some time to warm up to, but you like him by the end. Most importantly, I can't say I was ever bored by this book.
Having said that, there were a few not so good things about this book. I felt like it changed points of view a little too often, even cutting into romantic moments to tell us what Jim is up to. While he's vital to the plot, he's not the romantic lead and in my opinion he got just a little more air time than was necessary. Also, there is a stalker subplot that made almost no sense and could probably have been left out entirely. Meanwhile, we are given a lot of background on how Marie-Terese ended up where she was, and in the end those background circumstances pretty much remain the same--i.e. the abusive scary ex-husband is still out there to pose the same threat as before. Loose threads like that, as well as Vin's special ability, are left to hang so the reader must guess and assume (or perhaps they will be tied up in future books). Overall there was a little to much "Buy The Next Book To Find Out" going on at the end of the story--it doesn't function as a stand alone at all.
This is decent paranormal romance. It's nothing like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, so it's best to read it without expectations.
As is typical of Ward, the point of view jump around a lot. We meet Jim, a 40-year-old ex-assassin construction worker who, following a near death experience, is charged with saving seven souls from sin and damnation. The first of these souls is the leading man of the book, Vin. Vin is a very wealthy man who is basically always unsatisfied with what he has and greedily seeking more. Vin's world is turned upside down when he meets Marie-Terese, a prostitute who is desperate for a normal life. They pretty much immediately and inexplicably fall in love (another typical theme for Ward). However, they are both in danger as Vin's greedy past and Marie-Terese's less than pleasant current circumstances catch up to them. Jim must help them find there way out of danger and to each other.
The romantic moments in this book are surprisingly touching. If you can suspend disbelief and assume love at first sight, that is. There's no build-up, just instant knock out attraction followed quickly by "the L word". I actually enjoyed this aspect of the book, because it made their love seem urgent and fated. I had some trouble liking both characters at first, because they just aren't that easy to relate to. But Ward quickly explains why they are what and who they are, so I was able to start to sympathize with them. Similarly Jim takes some time to warm up to, but you like him by the end. Most importantly, I can't say I was ever bored by this book.
Having said that, there were a few not so good things about this book. I felt like it changed points of view a little too often, even cutting into romantic moments to tell us what Jim is up to. While he's vital to the plot, he's not the romantic lead and in my opinion he got just a little more air time than was necessary. Also, there is a stalker subplot that made almost no sense and could probably have been left out entirely. Meanwhile, we are given a lot of background on how Marie-Terese ended up where she was, and in the end those background circumstances pretty much remain the same--i.e. the abusive scary ex-husband is still out there to pose the same threat as before. Loose threads like that, as well as Vin's special ability, are left to hang so the reader must guess and assume (or perhaps they will be tied up in future books). Overall there was a little to much "Buy The Next Book To Find Out" going on at the end of the story--it doesn't function as a stand alone at all.
This is decent paranormal romance. It's nothing like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, so it's best to read it without expectations.
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